What was your earliest memory? It is my four-year-old’s memory of when I staged a play at my Catholic kindergarten.

Did you go through training/university or straight into work? I graduated from Kobe mercantile academy and qualified as a merchant cadet. But after graduation, I ended up becoming a shipbroker without getting working experience at sea. The success of a Japanese broker depended on the good relationships he built with his clients, and this involved a lot of entertainment.